Loren Coleman, a cryptozoologist and investigator of the unexplained, was born on July 12, 1947, in Norfolk, Virginia, and when three months old moved with his family to Decatur, Illinois, where he grew up. His interest in mysterious creatures originated in his youth and as a teenager he began to correspond with Ivan T. Sanderson and Bernard Heuvelmans, pioneer investigators of Bigfoot, the Yeti, and the Loch Ness Monster. He had his first hands-on experience in 1962, when he found a set of ape-like footprints in south-central Illinois. He attended Southern Illinois University (1965-1969), but dropped out following his marriage. Over the next years he worked at various jobs (including two years of alternative service as a conscientious objector), attended classes at several schools, and eventually completed his degree in 1976. He moved on to complete a master's in social work at Simmons College, and during the next decade was employed in social work and social service administration. In 1989 he became an adjunct associate professor in social work at the University of Southern Maine (where he continues to teach) while also teaching at several other nearby colleges. His continuing interest in unknown animals led to an acquaintance with Jerome Clark, and together they authored two books, The Unidentified (1975) and Creatures of the Outer Edge (1978). He went on to write several books during the 1980s, among the more notable being Tom Slick and the Search for the Yeti (1989), a chronicle of the eccentric Texas oil millionaire's quest to obtain undeniable evidence for the existence of the abominable snowman. Slick died in a 1962 plane crash and much of his research had been lost. Through the 1990s, Coleman wrote numerous articles on crypto-zoology, appeared on many radio and television shows, and consulted on a variety of projects connected with the search for hidden animals. Strange Magazine carried his column, "The Cryptozoo News," and he currently authors the "Mysterious World" column for Fate and "On the Trail" column for Fortean Times. His research over the years has culminated in two books at the end of the decade, The Field Guide to Bigfoot, Yeti and Other Mystery Primates Worldwide, with Patrick Hughe (1999), and Cryptozoology A to Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature (1999). In the latter volume he returned to his fruitful collaboration with Jerome Clark. As the new century begins, Colemen continues active research on unknown animals across North America. He has built a large library on cryptozoology as well as a large collection of artifacts. In 1997 he was inducted into the Roger Patterson Memorial Hall of Fame (Patterson being known for his film of Bigfoot) housed at the Bigfoot Museum in Portland, Oregon.
Sources:
Coleman, Loren. Tom Slick and the Search for the Yeti. London: Faber and Faber, 1989.
——, and Jerome Clark. Creatures of the Outer Edge. New York: Warner Books, 1978.
——. Cryptozoology A to Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature. New York: Fireside, 1999.
——. The Unidentified. New York: Warner Books, 1975.
——, and Patrick Hughe. The Field Guide to Bigfoot, Yeti and Other Mystery Primates Worldwide. New York: Avon, 1999.
